Sainte Mère Marie
by Angleico3156789
Summary: Ariadne was afraid of the inability of the Mother to answer her question or make it come true. She was afraid that from what she has observed from the world, in her 25 years of life, would be true for her too. Set before Inception job. Arthur/Ariadne
1. Ariadne's Dilemma

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inception or any of the lovely characters.**

**A/N: So something I've been working on lately...well just suddenly got the inspiration for. There will be a second part to this story in Arthur's POV. I hope that some of you out there will be able to connect with Ariadne on a personal level. Enjoy and please review!**

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><p>The statue of Mother Mary never looked more beautiful in the sun. Glistening drops of dew sparkled and glittered against the rusting copper. White and green patches of chemical reactions marred the body, but even so, she stood strong. She stood strong against the biting morning breeze, daring the wind to shake her.<p>

Ariadne never admired a statue more so than ever. There was this inexplicable bond between her and the statue.

Ariadne was born a Catholic, but she was never diligent in going to Mass. She would often sneak out during Sunday school to admire the buildings in Paris or doze off on the patch of green with the amazing view of the Eiffel Tower. Her parents often wondered what would become of her. Their dreams of Ariadne becoming a debutant and a social flower were soon dashed upon realizing her abhorrence for puffy dresses and make-up.

But she proved herself. Like she always did, much to the surprise of countless people. She always proved her worth through her limitless imagination and delicate details. She enjoyed watching the awe and amazement on the faces of the dubious professors and unconvinced relatives. She lapped it all up like a remedy for her insecurities.

But today she did not think of her insecurities; she spoke of them. She had come to ask for Mother Mary's advice. The holy Mother had this way of healing silence. Each birthday, she would come to ask the Mother a question that had plagued her for a long time.

On her 16th birthday, she asked why her parents got divorced. Three days later, she found pictures, of his father with a twenty year old floozy hanging over his body, in her mother's purse. Five days later, the divorce was finalized.

On her 20th birthday, she asked whether or not the universities she submitted to liked her. Three days later, she received acceptance letters from each of the architectural colleges she submitted to.

Today was her 25th birthday. She had decided to ask the question that she dared not to ask out of fear of denial. Ariadne was afraid of the inability of the Mother to answer her question or make it come true. She was afraid that from what she has observed from the world, in her 25 years of life, would be true for her too. Even though she was afraid of the truth, she was more terrified of being lonely. Ariadne could not bear the thought of spending her golden years alone in a house: no children, no grandchildren, no husband.

_So today_, she thought, _is as good a day as any_. She rather prepare herself for loneliness than be surprised by it. If it was never going to happen, then, she might as well not try. What's the use of getting her heart broken again and again to only find that it was never meant to be? Selfish: perhaps; cowardly: definitely.

Ariadne glanced back up at Mother Mary's face that portrayed courage and strength. Ariadne knew that if she is to be rejected, there was nothing to fear. Life still had plenty more to offer; it had already given her the joy of drawing buildings and mazes and cathedrals.

She let out an airy sigh; the wisps of her breath churned out moist smoke that curled in the chilly air. It was as if it waved to her before dissipating into nothingness. Ariadne was sure that she was the only one who knew about this abandoned corridor further down Rue de la Barrière Blanche passing Rue Lepic, near Montmartre.

She knelt down on the gravelly road, wincing at the prick of the tiny stones against her beige pants. She was going out with her friends for lunch today and then meeting Professor Miles to finish up her project. She raised her head towards the statue of Mother Mary, her hair blown free from her bobby pins, danced wildly without hindrance. Ariadne clasped her clammy, icy hands together and started whispering.

"Sainte Mère Marie, je sais que je n'ai pas parlé avec vous dernièrement. I know I haven't spoken to you lately, Mother Mary. As you probably realize, it's my 25th birthday. Things have been really busy lately. Madeleine got married since we last talked and Leonard moved to Germany. Poor Celine's mother has come down with pneumonia; I pray that she'll be alright. Professor Miles seems to be coughing a lot more than usual and I hope it's nothing too serious..."

She sniffed as another gust of cool wind screeched through the cramped alley. Ariadne chuckled.

"You are probably laughing at my naivety right now. You already know what I'm going to say don't you Mère Marie? I'm just coming up with all this filler talk to ease my nerves from asking what's been truly plaguing me. But you probably already know, right Mère? I'm just wasting my time..."

Ariadne paused. Once she says this, she will never be able to take it back. She licks her chapped lips and blinks a few times before resuming.

"Mother Mary, I've been worried. I've been worried about love, Mère. How do I know I haven't already met him but just let him go? How do I know that I haven't just seen him on the street or talked to him, but never really knew him, or gave him the chance? How do I know if it was one of them I came to you about? How do I know if it was Jonah or David or Tex, but I was too hasty in letting them go? How can I ensure my heart that it will know love, and never be lonely? Because Mère Marie-"

Ariadne chokes on it, but it's coming out of her mouth already and she can't hold it in any longer. It's something she's never admitted to anyone, but she's sure Mother Mary already knew.

"Because Mère Marie, I'm so afraid of being lonely. I'm so scared that I'll be the one that's left behind and forgotten. I don't want to be forgotten Mother. I want to be secured in someone's heart forever. I want to be someone's lifeline and I want someone to be mine. I don't want to spend my life alone, Mother. And it scares me more than anything to imagine that. I just want to be comforted Mère. I just want to know that there's someone out there for me and that I don't have to give up... That is all, amen."

Ariadne hastily gets up and dries the lone tear. She moves quickly back up the street but stops for a second to glance back at the strong face of the Holy Mother. She leaves quickly for her lunch with her friends.

Little does she know, two hours later the wind brings a man. A man full of crisp lines and three-pieced suits. He's known of Mother Mary as well. And he thinks he is the only one who knew of it ever since he put it there...

TO BE CONTINUED...

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><p><strong>AN: Well this is to be continued in Arthur's POV. I am currently working on that right now and should have it up by the end of this or next week.**

**It's so much easier writing in Ariadne's POV because of the universal fear of leading a loveless life. As a woman, I find it daunting to spend the rest of my life alone or lonely without so much as a person to comfort you. This story is my verson of a more wholistic view of love and the fear of having no love. Not everyone finds what they're looking for in life, but I guess the point is in trying. **

**This statue is just part of my imagination. There is no statue of her near Montmartre, unless it's one that I don't know of... The streets are real but the statue is not. So don't go looking for it in that tiny corridor. Goodness knows what's in there...**

**Please review, it just makes my day so much better and gives me so much more inspiration to write. This is also posted on my LiveJournal account: angleico315678**


	2. Arthur's Distress

**A/N: So I've promised a second part to it. I'm so sorry that it took FOREVER but it's up now. Just a fair warning that this chapter does contain Mal/Arthur...Just in case any of you hate that. I'm just saying that this is a story for BEFORE the Inception job, and before Arthur met Ariadne.**

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><p>It was a chilly afternoon in France, even for autumn. His deep brown trench coat ruffled and flapped in the wind. Long, lean fingers slowly buttoned the large buttons gently into the opening. He straightened his lapel and smoothed the creases on the jacket. Then large hands adjusted the tie a bit tighter and the pulled on the collar of his iron-pressed shirt.<p>

It had been a long while since he's been in Paris. The last time he was here, he killed two men. Two men whom he will never know as well as he should or could. Oh he remembers their names, their occupations, their age and their family background; and not to mention, their faces. Having a photographic memory was a joy and a curse in his profession.

In each city he visited, he has a mental list of how many people he damaged there. A death list, a heist list, a money list. He remembered bits and peices of his childhood. It seemed odd, he had a photographic memory, yet he could barely remember his childhood. Perhaps it was because he did not like to think of it. He did not like to think of his mother who disappeared on his 10th birthday and never returned. She had packed trunks and suitcases. She had wrapped her head in a scarf and donned sunglasses onto her powdered face.

She left. Not even a goodbye, not even a kiss, not even a hug. He accepted it in a quiet way, as he always does. She was never happy with him or his father. She always told him that.

_Your poor mother has to stay here with you. She has to stay with you and your father because you can't take care of yourself. When will you grow up Arthur? Grow up soon, I want to go away and have some fun. Oh Arthur, can't you remember when I used be a star on Broadway? Can't you see the men lining up with flowers and perfume? Why did I marry your father? Because he was rich? Phhst, what good did that do? I miss the stage Arthur, grow up quickly!_

People told him that his mother was deluded. That she was out of her mind. But he still kept her company. He brought her breakfast in bed, he sat by her bedside listening to her rant on and on of praises of herself and curses on his father. After his 10th birthday, he had to grow up. His father , Arthur Sr., clapped Arthur on the back and said.

_Son, I have no idea why she stayed for as long as she did. Now you've got to be a man. _

And Arthur Sr. never talked much to his son ever again. There wasn't anything left to say. So Arthur went to college, desperately seeking for anybody's approval. It seemed that many universities wanted his talent. He ended up studying mechanics and machinery. He went on to developing army machinery and weapons.

He was so sought after by the military, they hired him to work with a few men on a "special" new project. A special new project that seemed utterly unrealistic and foolish at first but soon dominated his entire weeks and months. On his team were many other capable biochemists and mechanics. They spent years on it, hidden from the mass populas. Arthur put his whole spirit and effort into the device. He spent hours building model after model, spent days under the device. When it was finished and checked over again and again, they named it the Portable Automated Somnacin IntraVenous Device. But Arthur just called it the PASIV.

After the device was created, the military invited a new group to explore and discover this new device. What seemed like a harmless dream sharing device became lethal after the entire group had not woken up after the intended 5 minutes. Arthur had manned the device and waited for them to wake up. After 10 minutes, he knew something was wrong. And sure enough, the six people never woke up again.

After another few long months of studying, they finally found out the reason for this. That was the discovery of limbo and projections. The military then brought in a group of hghly trained scientists that specialized in dreams and a few architects. They were to work on instances and scenarios for the soldiers to work on. That was when he met Mal. And his entire life was turned upside down

There was not denying that she was very attractive and he had felt a very strong pull towards her. She was indeed a lovely person. She had an luring personality and a voracious curiosity. He warmed to her immediately. They would often discuss about dreams and reality. He found out that she had a loose grip on reality and often floated around impossible ideas and wild imaginations. Arthur found himself thinking of her at the most unconvenient times and even dreaming of her in his dreams. When he still had them.

She had him dazed and starry eyed. She was all he thought about during that time other than the project and the dream world. Her chopped brown hair that glinted under the Paris sun and her sharp blue eyes that caught everyone's attention waddled through his mind until he could not stand it. And just as he was about to muster up the courage to pursue a relationship with her, Dom Cobb arrived.

Cobb arrived with his own keen perception of layouts and architectural design that charmed Mallorie Miles right into his world. He was fresh and new and had a distinctively imaginative air that was similar to Mal. Back then, Cobb had little to suppress him and his creations were sky high. Mal was absolutely captured by this. They were practically inseparable, leaving Arthur with a particular distaste in his mouth and a feeling of being the third wheel in all their outings and discussions. Despite all of this, there was something about Dom Cobb that made him impossible to dislike. Perhaps it was his blunt truthfulness or his sharp attention to detail that made Arthur trust him unequivocally. And it was because of this, Arthur let go of Mal into Dom's "capable" hands.

After a wedding and two children, it seemed that nothing could possibly go wrong with the Cobb household. Arthur did not keep tabs on them but even so, something seemed off for a few months. He received no news or letter from them and Cobb did not even speak to him anymore. Arthur thought it may just be the pressure of providing for a family or the unwillingness to let themselves be integrated into the dream world anymore. But he was quite wrong.

After a successful job, Arthur decided to lay low in Los Angeles for a while and gave Cobb a ring. He let Cobb know that he was there and if Cobb needed anything, he was there. However, he did not expect a guilt ridden, shocked Cobb to call him up at 2 am in the morning on Mal and Cobb's anniversary.

_A-arthur? Something bad has happened. I-I need your help._

In the entire five years Arthur knew Cobb, he never heard him speak in such a vulnerable tone. He could hear scuffling over the phone as if Cobb was weaving his hands through his hair. Arthur didn't wait for an explanation and hurried over to the address Cobb provided him with. There he was greeted with a quivering Dom Cobb running his hands over his face, sitting on the doorsteps of the hotel hunched over. Cobb led him to the sprawled form of Mal Cobb on the concrete with blood splattered across the grey squares of the sidewalk.

Now Arthur had seen some pretty gruesome things in his time in the dream-sharing business. But once he saw Mal, he ran to the closest garbage bin and emptied his entire stomach into it. Cobb just stood in the corner with one hand covering his tear stained eyes and another hand on his hip. After Arthur got a grip of himself and cleaned up, he went over to Cobb and punched him in the face. Cobb, slumped on the ground, said nothing and continued shaking. Arthur didn't know whether he felt disgusted or sympathetic, all he knew was that he needed to get him out of this.

They took a cab back to Cobb's house, where Cobb explained to him what Mal had did to him and how he could no longer be in the county. He did not tell Arthur the entire story about how she became this way. Arthur could not comprehend the insanity in which Mal had succumbed to therefore he did not blame Dom. What he did do though, was help Cobb get an agent and stayed with his children until Cobb left.

And even after everything that happened, he still agreed to go on jobs that Cobb asked him to be on. And after a few disastrous jobs, they found out that Cobb could no longer be an architect. So he switched to being an extractor. Maybe it was his baggage and developed instinct that made him so great at being a thief. And it was because Cobb didn't want to be a thief that made him so good at being one. But Arthur could still sense the deep rooted guilt every time Mal would appear in their dreams. He didn't know why or how it was caused but, he was certain that there was something going on that Cobb wasn't telling him.

Despite what happened to Mal and Cobb, he still envied their love. Even after death, he could tell that Cobb loved her and she him. Arthur always wanted a relationship like that with another human being. Never in his life did he have a withstanding relationship with another female. He had his few one night stands and flings. He blames his mother for his awkwardness and inability to express love for another person. And he curses her for it.

And it is for this reason that he visits Sainte Mere Marie. Without any motherly figure, she was his only confidante. It would seem foolish that a grown man of his stature would find comfort in a bronze statue in the middle of nowhere, but he trusts her. She's the only one he fully trusts now.

So that's why he came here today. They just finished a disastrous job involving one of the most powerful engineering companies in the world, Cobol Engineering. He was on edge and extremely pissed off. It wasn't because Cobb had made Mal appear at the dream when he specifically told him not to let it happen again; although sometimes, he wished that Cobb had just died along with Mal to put him out of his misery. It wasn't even because of him getting shot in the foot or the fact that they had just lost another architect. Nash wasn't that great for someone who had done many high profile jobs for other dream-sharing heist teams. And being shot? Not a pleasant experience but he knew it came with the territory.

No, what bothered him the most was that Cobb had agreed to an inception job. _An inception_ job. Of all the crazy notions and explosive imagination Cobb has or had, Arthur had trusted him. Arthur had promised Mal, long before she died, on the day of their wedding to protect Cobb and help him to the best of his ability. She had pulled him aside for a dance while Cobb was talking to Professor Miles. She had given him her sultry smile and whispered her deep French accent into his ear.

_If something ever happens to me Arthur, I want you to help him. I want you to protect him to the best of your ability. He trusts you Arthur. He will need you. Promise me you'll do it, Arthur, promise me._

He mainly remembers how her smooth hands caressed the back of his neck and how the sequins on her white gown prickled his own palms. But he did remember promising her. He did remember telling her that nothing would happen to her. He did remember her soft yet contradicting gaze that implied otherwise.

That's why he's still here. That is why he helps Cobb. That is why he does it without questioning anything although all he wants to do it kill the miserable bastard. He wants to strangle Dom Cobb for portraying Mal in such a way in all his dreams. She was never so cold and vengeful when she was alive. How could he skew her image like this? How could Cobb torment the last remnants of his own memory of her?

Arthur blames him. He blames Cobb for everything that has happened. He doesn't know for sure but, Arthur likes to believe that Mal would have been safe and relatively happy with Arthur if Cobb had never existed. He would have never let anything like this happen to her. But he can't deny the gripping and passionate love Mal and Cobb had. No matter what happened, she would have still loved him anyways. That was their problem, they loved each other too much. He had a nagging feeling that that was their downfall.

That's why he swore to himself that he would never let love happen to him. That's why he prays that love will never happen to him. He didn't need it in a life like this. One unrequited love was enough in a lifetime. He doesn't want to be paralyzed and frozen by loss like Cobb is. And he certainly doesn't want to feel the emptiness of heart break again.

He shivers a little as a chilling breeze sweeps past the back of his neck. Like deja-vu, he remembers her hands again. He is haunted by her presence whenever he looks into Cobb's eyes. And here, looking at the the generous expression of the statue, he feels a little at peace. He extends a lanky arm and rests his black, gloved hand on Sainte Mere Marie's shoulder.

"Bonjour Sainte Mere Marie, comment ca-va? Hello Mother Mary, how are you? We haven't spoke in what...at least two years. Much can happen in two years."

Arthur glanced at the cobblestone ground.

"You see, ever since Mal died, Cobb has given up. I feel like I should too. She's gone, so why should I continue helping him? I should never have let him take that inception job. But for a moment, I saw a spark of life in him I haven't seen ever since she died. So if we do this...if we do this, he'll be able to return to his home. His family."

He sighed. The wisps of moisture uncoiled in the air.

"So if we succeed, I will have fulfilled my promise to her."

He shook his head and smirked as he dug his gloved hands into the pockets of his grey trench coat. He shuffled his black loafers above a rock.

"It's funny how life works, doesn't it Mere Marie? You fall in love with a woman. She falls in love with a bastard. He ruins her and she dies. You clean up after him. That wasn't how it was supposed to work. That was never what was planned. But they always say love is unpredictable and crazy. It's out of hand and emotional. It's everything I stand against and everything that could be deadly in a profession like mine and Cobb's."

Arthur frowns at the still generous looking mother.

"Why didn't anyone warn them that it could turn out this way? Why did they do it even though they knew it would be so messy? Why does anyone take that kind of uncalculated risk? Why did I take up such a foolish emotion with a woman?"

His hand on the statue's shoulder balled into a fist. He gritted out.

"Never again, you hear me Mere Marie? Never again do I ever want to experience something like that. I don't want to fall in love again. I have no patience for that. I can't offer another woman what one already consumed. I can't bring such foolishness to my job and my life. It can't stand. I will not allow it. You better make sure of that Mere Marie, you better make sure of that."

Arthur gazed at the statue. Its lifeless eyes still seemed warm and inviting despite everything he just said. The mother's metallic shoulder was so cold, he couldn't tell if it was burning or freezing. After pausing for a minute or two, he opened his mouth. He couldn't conceal his true feelings to the only person he trusts.

"Sainte Mere Marie, forgive me. I just- I just don't think I can deal with that kind of pain again. I've been let down too many times in a span of three decades. I'm afraid it'll hurt. I'm afraid to lose again mother. I cannot lose again mother. Don't let me lose too much. Pain I can take, but I can't stand the empty feeling. So please...please, don't let me fall in love again. Don't let me be disappointed in life again. That is all. Amen."

And with one final glance at the Virgin Mary, he turned and walked away, with his grey trench coat flapping against the wind. He does not know that just maybe, she's heard his plea and decided otherwise. He cannot know that Cobb would be the one to bring him a paradox of joy and sorrow in the form of scarves and oxfords.

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><p><strong>AN: So maybe there will be a sequel to this. We'll see where my muse will allow me to go with it. This one is a bit longer than the Ariadne counterpart. And to those who have read it before..so sorry it took so long. Comments are love!**


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